It's probably clear by now that Dead Island: The Game is nothing like Dead Island: The CGI Trailer. It's almost impossible to ignore that first teaser, oozing emotion with each masterful cut. As soon as screens and in-game footage were on show, it became very obvious that Dead Island wasn't the narrative tour-de-force the trailer suggested. This has been well-documented, but as a cautionary tale, don't go into it expecting anything in the way of serious, heartfelt drama.

In fact, it's best not to go into Dead Island expecting much in the way of drama at all. For a game in which the marketing focused so heavily on the human aspect of a zombie apocalypse, Dead Island's characters are remarkably two-dimensional. The game begins with a cutscene introducing you to the four playable characters, a quartet of stereotypes so flat that even Uwe Boll will probably be giving the movie adaptation a miss. The plot's not gripping from the outset, and the game does almost nothing to rectify this during its 20+ hour running time. With three friends along for the ride, it's easier to ignore the plot and just get on with doing things, but as a single player experience it can seriously drag.

Despite its four player co-op focus, Dead Island is still an RPG and the lack of narrative hook means there's very little opportunity to get invested in the goings-on. Racial caricatures offer you vast numbers of sidequests, most of which involve heading to a location, fetching something or talking to someone then heading back. It's incredibly hard to care about the people you're trying to help, or even your own player character (who, despite the fact that two of the four are female, is always referred to as 'him'). Occasionally the game does attempt to inject some melodrama into proceedings, but without fail it always falls flat

Banoi, the fictional island on which the game is set, is nicely realised. Beachside resorts lead up to huge hotel buildings, then later a close-quarters city area opens onto more rural sections. It's an interesting area of play, let down by a lack of interesting things to do. The novelty of finding new areas wears off when you know you'll just be required to trek back and forth between them carrying juiceboxes, finding alcohol or escorting NPCs.

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Dead Island's other primary concern is allowing you to whack zombies with up to three other players. And the zombie whacking is actually rather good. First person melee combat isn't something which is done right very often, but the game manages to get pretty close to nailing it. It still becomes something of a wild flail-about when too many zombies storm up, but largely hacking away at limbs and heads is a rewarding experience, thanks in part to the excellent visual feedback provided for each attack. Hack at a zombie's arm with a cleaver and chunks of flesh will fly off, the arm itself eventually severing. Thunk your machete into a zombie's neck as it charges at you and its head will come popping off, the body flying comically past. This last attack never gets old.

Weapon variety is decent too. You have your usual range of axes, blades, hammers (and at one point a hat stand) as well as firearms which crop up later in the game. There are a lot of different weapons, and finding new tools with which to dispatch the undead satisfies that loot-em-up urge. Weapon stats vary, and can also be upgraded on workbenches found around the island. Alongside this, there are mod blueprints which allow you to do things like attach batteries to machetes or bombs to knives.

You earn XP for completing quests and killing zombies, and as your character levels up you can purchase various skills. There's nothing too remarkable here; things like earning an advantage with your character's specialist weapon class, and the option to power up your Fury ability. Fury lets you perform a special, devastating attack for a short amount of time. Having your vision turn monochrome and zombies glowing in red while you hack them with a stiletto feels a tiny bit out of place, but also strangely in keeping with the disjointed nature of the game as a whole.

Dead Island can occasionally feel like a bit of a slog too. Dying simply strips you of some cash and spawns you almost exactly where you died, which makes it more of an irritant than a failstate. Combat is enjoyable enough but even with the unique enemies that crop up later, and the introduction of human foes, never really changes significantly. It's all a bit laboured, a bit tedious, and it's the kind of co-op game that's more fun based on who you're playing with, than on what you're playing. It sits in this awkward middle ground between Borderlands and Left 4 Dead, never remotely matching either but never quite crossing into the territory where you should be avoiding it. Dead Island is less a five-star vacation in Dubai and more a self-catering holiday in Cornwall. Cheap, cheerful, and more fun with a few friends.